The pound hit a two-and-half-year low Tuesday after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson threatened to call a snap election to push through Brexit, while Asian markets were hobbled by worries over China-US trade talks.

The French lawyer of former auto titan Carlos Ghosn, currently under house arrest in Tokyo, has attacked Japanese prosecutors for an alleged lack of impartiality and questioned how his client can receive a fair trial.

Washington moved ahead Sunday with new tariffs on Chinese imports as it stepped up a high-pressure campaign aimed at coercing Beijing to sign a new trade deal even amid fears of a further slowing of U.S. and world growth.